Imperial seal of Nguyen Dynasty expected to be repatriated soon

At the regular press conference held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Since October 2022, competent agencies have taken measures through cultural diplomacy, collected legal documents and negotiated in an effort to bring home a golden imperial seal dating back to 1823 from France, heard a press conference in Hanoi on October 9.

Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage Le Thi Thu Hien said at the regular press conference, held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, that the Vietnamese side has been working to complete relevant legal procedures for the repatriation of the imperial seal.

After the work is done, scheduled for late October, the French side will hand over the seal to Vietnam, she added.

On October 19, 2022, Paris-based auction house Millon announced that it will auction 329 antiquities, including two dating back to the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 - 1945) – a golden seal made in 1823 under the reign of King Minh Mang (1820 - 1841) and a golden bowl made under the reign of King Khai Dinh (1917 - 1925).

On the basis of collected evidence, verification through Millon-published information and images, and comparison with some golden seals of the Nguyen Dynasty being kept at some Vietnamese museums and relic sites, the seal supposed to be auctioned is confirmed to be “Hoang de chi bao” (Treasure of The Emperor) cast in 1823 under the reign of King Minh Mang.

After negotiation efforts, the Vietnamese representative and Millon reached an agreement on deferring the auction of the seal at 7:30am on October 31, 2022 (Paris time). At 10:10am the same day, the auction house issued an official statement about the removal of the item from the list of antiquities to be auctioned./.

VNA